Today finds many of the seven boats fishing for cows plowing their way homeward. While the weather has been rough for the past many days in deep southern waters, the boats have managed to do quite well, for the most part. Three over 300 pounds are said to be on American Angler, as a case in point. Today also marks the start of year 71 for this writer, and my imminent retirement from the position as I have known it for the past 20 years. That exact date remains unclear at the moment: I would prefer to finish the big fish season, in order to have a complete record for anglers to access in the future.

Final Hours

“The boat called tonight,” reported American Angler January 15, “to fill us in with the details of their final fishing hours on this Accurate 12 day trip. They ended with an action-packed morning and were once again fortunate enough to hook a few big ones, but unfortunately only landed one of those. Kohei Kikuchi brought in a beautiful 245-pounder and at one point in the battle it became evident that there was a little more than luck involved with this catch.

“They are grateful to have topped of the trip with several 80 to 160-pound fish and are working their way up the line for a Saturday morning return. Check back for ETA and pictures on their return day!”

“Conditions were completely different here today,” wrote Excel skipper Justin Fleck January 16. “We still managed to have a few shots at big ’uns including a 260-pounder caught by John Nappo of Trophy Tackle. John's tuna came on the chunk. There were 14 tuna and 17 wahoo that made it into the RSW well for our day. Unfortunately we lost several heavy fish today due to miscellaneous reasons. Tomorrow will be our final day here, so hopefully we can pick up a few more jumbos.”

“David Tang aka "Fishy Buzz" caps off a stellar trip with a Jumbo,” said the report from Intrepid January 15. “Fishy was the hot stick of the trip and seemed to get hooked up whenever he felt like pulling on another big Tuna. The bite slowed down considerably today as the water temp dropped over night and we had a pick bite, but the quality was still great. Dave Henderson ended his trip in style as well getting his first ever Cow, which helps ease the pain of the Giant he lost after a long battle when hook pulled the other night. Corey Burak picked of a 100-pounder on the butterfly jig for some added fun. With the weather still up and blowing a good 20 knots we are enjoying a beautiful Rack-O-Lamb dinner provided by chef Mark Pariano here in the lee before we start up the line tonight in order to gain some distance and possibly have time for a stop or two along the way home.”

“We are on our way home,” wrote Andy Cates aboard Red Rooster III January 15, “and still pounding through what seems like endless windy weather. Our move to the Bank certainly saved things with 2.5 days of scratch fishing on really nice fish: 120 to 190-pounders. The bite lasted all day and we had chances at fish over 200 pounds each day. The weather and conditions made for some of the most frustrating and tough fishing you could have. Current slowly going straight up into 20 to 35 knots of wind each day, the boat endlessly rolling, making the end game battle at gaff even more challenging. For some it was great, for others it seemed impossible. We did manage 100 nice fish out there to end the trip after 2.5 days. Tommy will post a few pictures of memorable fish but even getting a picture seemed difficult. The ride up has been more of the same with 20 to 30 knots and some surprise rolls and pitches.

“All in all very challenging. The guys were up for it and put in a lot of effort for what was caught. Needless to say we can't wait to get some better weather up the line.”

The morning of January 17 the Rooster posted this: "We finally have nice weather! After 13 days we have no wind and flat seas. It took a long time to get there, but we got it! It looks like we will be in at about 7:00 tomorrow morning."

“Well, we are almost home,” reported Royal Polaris January 15. “After a few days of rough weather, mother nature has given us a break, with flat seas, clear skies, and very cool. We will arrive to Fisherman’s Landing at 06:00 hours on Friday morning. Most of the day was spent watching TV and playing cards. We did make a few stops for reds, and only caught a handful. So we are moving north. Until tomorrow, good luck and good fishing.”

“Bumping our way up the line resting and relaxing after four days of intense angling," wrote Royal Star skipper Randy Toussaint January 15. "Our weather is not bad and is forecast to get even better tomorrow, I should be able to post an ETA then. Following is a list of the anglers that boated deuces: